Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has clarified his decision to start Ross Doohan instead of Dimitar Mitov against Celtic.
Doohan was surprisingly given the nod for the Dons as they faced the runaway Scottish Premiership leaders at Celtic Park on Tuesday night.
However, the former Celtic backup goalkeeper had a tough game, conceding five goals, some of which he will feel he should have saved.
Since Thelin took over last summer, Doohan has primarily been Aberdeen’s second-choice keeper, but he has stepped in 15 times during Mitov’s absence.
Mitov was out injured from December 1 to 26, but returned for two matches before being sidelined again.
He came back for the trip to Dundee on February 15, but remained on the bench.
He then kept a clean sheet against Kilmarnock a week later, delivering a heroic performance to help Aberdeen register a much needed win.
Yet, that wasn’t the case.
“He had an injury before and he had only trained for one week,” Thelin explained.
“We didn’t want to get like last time where he came back too early and then he got another injury.
“He is on schedule but Ross had also been doing well so those and that was part of the decision.”
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Aberdeen cannot dwell on their recent heavy defeat to Celtic because they have a crucial match against Dundee United at Pittodrie this weekend. A fixture that could prove pivotal to both team's aspirations of finishing third.
Thelin's men sit one point ahead of Dundee United and currently occupy third-spot, but their goal difference has suffered significantly during a disappointing run in the league over the past few months.
Meanwhile, Hibernian are climbing the table and now just four points behind Aberdeen.
Dundee United and Hibs go head-to-head on Wednesday night.
“It is going to be a really important game for us and we have to recover and look to that one,” said Thelin.
